[+/-] CAPPS II Program Shelved

Chalk up a rare win for privacy. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced yesterday that the controversial Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II) is being dismantled because of concerns over privacy and effectiveness. CAPPS II would have collected personal information from airline passengers and rank travelers according to terrorist risk level.

Sometimes such announcements are used to merely distract the public from controversial programs before they are submerged into deeper obscurity. Since CAPPS II requires passenger cooperation, however, perhaps it is not too early to cheer for the program's passing.